


A Simple Plan

by Kishirokitsune



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Gen, No Dialogue, Young Justice Season 2, a look into Bart's thoughts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-05
Updated: 2019-11-05
Packaged: 2021-01-23 08:15:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21317008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kishirokitsune/pseuds/Kishirokitsune
Summary: Bart knew what he had to do in order to stop the apocalyptic future from coming to pass. He knew everything he needed to expect, thanks to Nathaniel.Everything except for Jaime Reyes.Suddenly his "simple" plan is the exact opposite.
Relationships: Bart Allen & Jaime Reyes
Kudos: 20





	A Simple Plan

**Author's Note:**

> 5 years ago, I wrote a short fic called "A Simple Plan". Recently, I picked back up my love for YJ (mostly just my love for Bluepulse) and figured that it deserved a bit of a rewrite. The original is still over on fanfiction.net.

Bart's plan was relatively simple once he broke it down to the barest bones of it.

Travel back in time. Stop Neutron. Stop Blue Beetle.

That was all he needed to do in order to save Earth from being enslaved by a race of aliens who sought to dominate and destroy their way of life. Three steps and he could reset the timeline and set things right; to ensure the future he knew and grew up in would never come to be.

(And in hindsight, maybe that wasn't such an easy thing, but he didn't have time to think, only to act.)

Preventing Neutron from killing Grandpa Barry had been a walk in the park. An admittedly nerve-wracking walk in the park, and he'd been so sure that he'd end up vomiting more than just words when he barged in and introduced himself to his family, accidentally revealing Grandma Iris's pregnancy in the process. (Oops.) So yeah, nerve-wracking, but so worth it to be able to see and talk to and work alongside Barry just like he'd always dreamed of doing.

With that accomplishment behind him, surely it'd be even easier to stop Blue Beetle, right?

After all, he harbored no love for the monster who would one day help enslave and torture all of mankind. The Blue Beetle wasn't like Nathaniel; he wasn't some poor kid who'd been forced into a situation beyond his control and given a name that would lead to distrust from everyone around him for year and years into the future.

The Blue Beetle wasn't human. He was a monster who needed to be stopped and Bart was the only one who could do it. No one else saw the threat. He doubted he'd be believed even if he did speak up and tell the League or even Nightwing.

Bart felt that way right up until the moment he met Jaime Reyes, a kid thrust into a situation beyond his control, with no one around to give him the guidance he needed. He was a boy – a teenager not much different than himself, and wholly different from the person he expected to meet.

One thing was for certain, Jaime Reyes was no monster.

He tried to stick to his plan. Bart wouldn't leave him alone for more than a few minutes, always finding a way to insert himself onto the same team or finding some excuse to zip along after Jaime. Maybe the spying on him in his own house with his family was a bit much, but Bart had to keep an eye on him or else...!

Or else what?

The more Bart watched him, the less he understood.

Jaime was so kindhearted and patient and so utterly human. How did a person with such goodness in their heart go on to become so cruel and inhuman? What was the tipping point? How did it happen? Was there anything he could do to stop it from happening?

Bart became a little obsessed with spending more and more time with him, his suspicion giving way to genuine interest, until he found himself enjoying the company of someone he once despised with every atom of his being. The Blue Beetle was once he most hated enemy, but suddenly he found himself calling him his friend.

He didn't know when it happened, but somewhere along the way his plan changed from “stopping the Blue Beetle at any cost” to “saving Jaime Reyes”.

He had to save him. Jaime didn't deserve that awful future any more than Nathaniel. To be trapped and controlled, like a puppet on a string.

Bart refused to let that be anyone's future.

He reworked his plan, letting in others who he knew he could trust to help, though not even they knew the whole story. None of them ever would.

In the end, his relatively simple plan unraveled and rewound itself into something complicated and much more emotional than he ever could have expected. His newfound faith in Jaime left him conflicted, but ultimately was what led to their success.

Because not only did he prevent the future he was born into from coming to pass, he also saved Jaime. And somehow, that was the most important thing of all.


End file.
